EFCC explains why it will keep prosecuting financial crimes in Nigeria

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has disagreed with some lawyers criticizing its financial crimes prosecution in different quarters.

He said with Nigeria losing $500 million to crime in just one year, the EFCC will keep tracking and prosecuting financial crimes.

Olukoyede made this statement during a meeting with the Senate Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator Emmanuel Udende, on Monday, and vowed to continue the fight against corruption.

This information was disclosed in a statement posted on the Commission’s official Facebook page on Monday.

Olukoyede addressed criticisms from lawyers regarding the EFCC’s activities, assuring lawmakers that EFCC operatives would continue to dedicate their efforts to combating cybercrime, which he described as economic sabotage that damages the country’s reputation.

“You are also aware that upon my assumption of office, I identified economic sabotage as a major problem. There is no financial crime too small to investigate and prosecute, and no one is too big. If you ignore the small ones today, tomorrow they will become big. So, people should stop criticizing us for investigating and prosecuting cybercrime. Some of these criticisms are coming from legal minds—people who should know better. A crime that has caused us to lose over $500 million in one year, and somebody says we shouldn’t do anything about it? You present your Green Passport on the global stage, and they single you out for profiling,” he said.

Quality Assurance at EFCC 

In addition, the EFCC Chairman assured lawmakers that ethics and staff integrity were his top priorities.

He noted that several EFCC staff members had been dismissed due to unethical behavior.

“I take the issue of ethics very seriously, and I have had to dismiss several staff members on account of unethical conduct, even as recently as two weeks ago. Upon my assumption of office at the EFCC, I declared my assets and encouraged all others to do the same,” he stated.

More insights 

During an oversight visit and pre-budget presentation with other members of the Committee to the EFCC’s corporate headquarters, Senator Udende praised the achievements of the Commission.

“We have reviewed the records, the budget performance, and what the EFCC has accomplished over the past year, and we are quite impressed with their progress. Within the year under consideration, they have made significant recoveries. Since the Chairman assumed office, he has recovered a considerable amount for this nation, and for that reason, we, as a Committee, want to commend him for doing a wonderful job,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the report, and no one has come forward to dispute it. As a Committee, we have thoroughly reviewed the records and are satisfied with the results. We have also reviewed the budget performance and are pleased with what has been achieved with the limited resources available,” he added.

Senator Udende further stated that the EFCC requires significant funding to sustain its anti-corruption efforts.

According to the statement, Committee members also toured various EFCC facilities, including the EFCC Radio at its national headquarters.

Backstory  

• The EFCC chairman’s reaction comes after the Supreme Court had reserved judgment in a suit challenging the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), as well as another related anti-graft agency.
• A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, had reserved judgment for “a later date” after hearing oral arguments in cases filed by several states against the Attorney General of the Federation.
• Nairametrics reports that the EFCC was established by an Act of the National Assembly on December 12, 2002; however, the act was repealed and reenacted by lawmakers in 2004 and was signed into law on June 4, 2004, by President Olusegun Obasanjo, twenty years ago.
• In his oral argument, at the apex, Mohammed Abdulwahab, SAN, counsel for Kogi State, had drawn the apex court’s attention to a previous Supreme Court observation that a United Nations Convention against Corruption was incorporated into the EFCC Establishment Act, contrary to Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
• Several states aligned with his line of argument, seeking reversal of EFCC’s establishment.
• The position of the AGF is that the apex court should quash the criticisms embodied in the suit while uploading all anti-corruption agencies in the country.